A gas turbine engine generally includes a fan and a core arranged in flow communication with one another. Additionally, the core of the gas turbine engine general includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air is provided from the fan to an inlet of the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel is mixed with the compressed air and burned within the combustion section to provide combustion gases. The combustion gases are routed from the combustion section to the turbine section. The flow of combustion gasses through the turbine section drives the turbine section and is then routed through the exhaust section, e.g., to atmosphere.
More commonly, non-traditional high temperature materials, such as ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials, are being used as structural components within gas turbine engines. For example, given an ability for CMC materials to withstand relatively extreme temperatures, there is particular interest in replacing components within the combustion section of the gas turbine engine with CMC materials. More particularly, an inner liner and an outer liner of gas turbine engines are more commonly being formed of CMC materials.
However, certain gas turbine engines have had problems accommodating certain mechanical properties of the CMC materials incorporated therein. For example, CMC materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion than the traditional metal materials. Accordingly, coupling the CMC materials to the traditional metal materials can be problematic. For example, special care must be taken in attaching the inner liner and outer liner to a metallic inner dome structure and a metallic outer dome structure, respectively.
Moreover, certain gas turbine engines having the inner and outer liners formed of CMC materials have difficulty in controlling an amount of high-pressure air that flows through one or more connection points—e.g., between the inner liner and inner dome structure and the outer liner and outer dome structure—into a combustion chamber at least partially defined by the inner and outer liners.
Accordingly, a combustor assembly having one more features allowing for a CMC liner to be attached to a respective metallic dome structure at an attachment point while controlling an amount of airflow therethrough would be useful. More particularly, a combustor assembly having one more features allowing for a CMC liner to be attached to a respective metallic dome structure at an attachment point while controlling an amount of airflow therethrough and allowing for relative thermal expansion would be particularly beneficial.